FAQ’s

Charity and Scott charge different rates. Charity charges $75/hour, Scott is $105/hour. Both charge $199/month for online coaching. You can read more about Scott’s fees here. Charity’s fees are here.

Can I buy one session or do I buy a package?

Both Scott and Charity do single sessions and packages. Discounts are available with packages.

Will you come to my gym?

Probably. If your gym has a squat rack, deadlift platform, good barbells, plates, a deadlift jack and a bench, we’ll likely come to you. You will have to pay our fee plus any gym guest fee required for our use of the facility. We travel a great deal as well. If we are visiting your area, we’ll come to your gym. Let us know where you are and we’ll see if you fit in the travel plans!

What equipment do I need?

You need comfortable workout clothes a good weightlifting belt and weightlifting shoes. You can try one of our many belts before you buy one of your own.

If you are an online client, at minimum, you’ll need:

a squat rack

a good barbell

plates

a bench

Am I too weak to try this?

Nope. We have trained very frail elderly people who required months of training to merely sit and stand without assistance. Our strength training method allows us to assess your ability and train you with a weight that is appropriate for you. We have very, very light bars and plates as light as 1/4 pound.

No matter what your strength level is, you will get stronger.

What is a Starting Strength Coach?

The Starting Strength Coach Credential is (at least to our knowledge) the only certification in existence that requires a candidate to demonstrate his ability to actually coach a trainee in the lifts. The SSC certification process includes being evaluated by a select group of Staff Coaches while actually coaching a trainee, on the platform and in real time, in accordance with the correct models (templates that have been developed and selected based on decades worth of coaching experience and a thorough analysis of all the relevant biological and mechanical considerations) of the lifts.

The SSC candidate who has demonstrated his mastery of the models of the lifts and his ability to coach a trainee through them must also submit a series of essays in order to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the human anatomy and general physical concepts involved in strength training, as well as the methodology of programming (assigning exercises, working loads, reps, and sets) in order to guide a trainee through repeated bouts of the Stress-Recovery-Adaptation cycle, the system’s model for the acquisition of strength.

Because of all the knowledge and ability necessary to obtain the credential, the rate at which coaches are certified is extremely low. Quite simply, most people don’t pass. By a large margin, more candidates fail than receive the credential at any given seminar. (We say we “identify” rather than “produce” since it is not, in our opinion, possible to make someone a coach in a weekend seminar.) Despite nearly 20,000 people having taken the seminar, fewer than 130 coaches in the cosmos. It is an elite group of the finest coaches in the world. Additionally, the stringent maintenance of credential requirements assure that the SSC you hire remains active, involved, and up to date.

Why do you two charge different rates?

Scott has completed the SSC credential and is in very, very high demand. He also runs a large business and has limited availability.

As soon as Charity completes the SSC credential, her demand will increase as well. Until then, we charge different prices.

What is the difference between in person and online coaching?

In person coaching is in real time. We can touch the trainee, cue as they lift and give timely coaching on a rep to rep basis. We can fix problems and make progress much more quickly. In person coaching is more expensive.

Online coaching is delayed, we can’t make changes in the trainee’s form as quickly. We can however watch every video in slow motion and formulate plans to fix chronic problems very readily. If you can’t get to a coach on a regular basis because of distance or financial concerns, online coaching is great!

Why do I need a coach?

A coach can act as an objective observer, correcting your lifts in real time; keeping you safe and assuring your efforts are effective and producing the desired results. Learning to perform your lifts with perfect form should be goal number one for every lifter. A lifter with a capable, knowledgeable coach does that far more effectively than the same lifter could manage alone.

Secondly, we use a coach to save time in the gym. Taking instruction from the bros and “learning as you go” wastes a lot of time and money. Learning the correct lifts, benefiting from a coach’s immense experience and getting proper programming (the prescription of what to actually do each session in the gym, with the constituent workouts producing a desired result over a period of time) will make the trainee strong much faster than his un-coached peer.

Programming guidance from an experienced coach will prevent you from prematurely hitting “Plateaus” and “getting stuck”. A qualified coach has been where you are before and has coached and programmed hundreds of others through the same difficulties. Taking advantage of that experience helps you save time, avoid frustration and increases your likelihood of success.

Getting check-ups from a coach can prevent “form creep”, the slow steady deterioration of the lifter’s technique that naturally occurs over time. The most experienced lifters AND even coaches themselves need the objective, dispassionate eye of an EXPERIENCED, PROVEN coach to assist them in their quest to gain strength.